NOLADrinks Show – 4-13-17 – At the Bar

On this edition of the NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias we have our At the Bar segment in the second hour with Asthin Berry of the Ace Hotel New Orleans, Johnny Sanders of Bar Tonique, and Steve Yamada of Twelve Mile Limit. We also talk about last weekend’s French Quarter Festival and a bit about the consolidation and threats to craft producers in the beer industry.

Pictured above from left – Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks, Steve Yamada of Twelve Mile Limit, Ashtin Berry of Ace Hotel New Orleans, and Johnny Sanders of Bar Tonique.

NOLADrinks Show – 04-13-17 – At the Bar

We kick things off on the NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias with some things happening around town and the larger metro New Orleans area. We then talk a bit about last weekend’s French Quarter Festival – the largest free music festival in the country. It’s a great event that attracted more than 700,000 people. But, with that many people at a free festival, there are ongoing issues (too many chairs!) that probably need addressing. We give a little wrap-up and thoughts on that.

We also discuss an op-ed piece in the New York Times written by Sam Adams Brewery founder, Jim Koch. We chat about his take on threats to the craft beer industry in the US due to the consolidation of breweries into the hands of a couple large companies as well as a similar consolidation among wholesalers/distributors. We touch on things in New Orleans and how these phenomena are also occurring in the wine and spirits industries, as well.

Lastly, in the first hour, we talk, briefly, about the name “Bourbon” and how a prominent author and whiskey historian, Michael Veach, promotes the theory that the name derives from the famed Bourbon Street in New Orleans and not from the same-named county in Kentucky. He addresses this in his book, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage.

In the second hour, we then have our semi-regular At the Bar segment where members of the bartending, service, hospitality and food/beverage industries join the show to talk about issues, their backgrounds, and insights. Like most of the time we do this segment, the conversation and even most of the topics are unscripted! This time around we welcome Asthin Berry of the Ace Hotel New Orleans, Johnny Sanders of Bar Tonique, and Steve Yamada of Twelve Mile Limit.

We touch on a wide-range of subjects including wine programs, upselling, the opportunities to educate guests and turn them onto new things, and more. We also explore some social issues including the transformation of things in town, the idea of how “safe spaces” are changing in town, how information and ideas (specifically, related to food and drink establishments) are transmitted and shared in New Orleans, how new businesses in the food and drink business are marketed, and our overall distaste for “listicles.”

We close out the At the Bar segment talking about an important event coming this Sunday (4/16) – New Orleans: Bar Institute Econo. It’s a day-long program that involves seminars on social issues within the service industry as well as food, drink, and fun. The event will take place at Treo on Tulane Ave. Click on the Facebook event to learn more!

It’s a broad, interesting, and fun conversation, to be sure! Below the map that features some of the spots mentioned in the show, you can subscribe to, stream, and download the NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast. Tell a friend!

Cheers, You All!